seabury



(No Model.) 5 sheets-sheet n.

S. SEABURY. BRBEGH LOADING CANNON.

ma@ 91- 57 Inf/@wrs (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2. S; SEABURY.

BREBGH LOADING CANNON. No. 474,974. Patented May 1'7, 1892.

(No Model.) 5 sheets-sheet a.

` 'SQSEABUMl BREECH LOADING (CANNON.

No. 474,974. Patented May 17, 1892.

- (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 4. Y S; SEABURY.

BREEGH LOADING CANNON.

Patented May '17, 1892.

(No Model.) y 5 Sheets-Sheet 5.

" S. SEABURY.

BREEGH LOADING CANNON.

No. 474,974. Patented May 17, 1892.

Wzessea: I

SAMUELSEABURY, OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY.

BREEi-FLOADING CANNON.

SEECIFICTION forming p airt of Letters Patent N0. 474,974, dated may 17, 1892.

Applicatlonliiled October 21,1891. Serial No. 415.708. `(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL SEABURY, lientenant United States Navy, residing at Ber gen Poing-in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Breach-Loading Cannon, of which the following is a specication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This improvement relates to breech-loading cannon having a mutilated screw-threaded breech-block which is withdrawn -in a rearward direction and which is held by and works within a carrier which is hinged to one side et the breech of the gun. In such a gun there are three movements necessary to open -the breech, viz: first, the turning of the breechblock to a position .in which it can be withdrawn directly backward; second, the withdrawal of the said block backward out of the breech of the gun, and, third, the swingingaside of the carrier with the block Ain it. Three corresponding reverse movements have to be made for closing the breech.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide in a more simple manner than heretofore for eecting all these movements in proper succession by the continuons movement of a single lever, which lever may also be em ployeti to effect the cooking of the tiring-pin employed for the ignition of the charge and the operation of a cartridge-shell extractor in a gun in which fixed ammunition is used.

will now proceed to describe the invention with reference tothe drawings, and afterward point out itsnovelty in claims".v

Figure` i is a rear view showing the breech of a cannoli embodying myinvention with the breech-block closed. Fig. 2 represents a top view corresponding with Fig. 1i Fig. 3 represents a transverse vertical section in the line zr' or" Fig. 2. Fig. 4 represents a central horizontal section corresponding with Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Fig. 5 is a side view corresponding with Figs. l. 2, 3, and 4. Fig. 6 represents a central vertical section corresponding with Figs. l, 2, 3, 4, and 5, except that in this fig- .nre the iiring-pin is represented as cocked,

and in the previously-mentionedligures it is represented in the posi-tion it occupies after firing. Fig. 6* 'isa back .view of the Sear.

Fig. 7 represents a central horizontal section of the breech and a topview'of the breechblock and its operating mechanism, showing the breech-block as turned, preparatory to its 'Withdrawal from the breech. Fig. 8 is a plan view, partly in section, representing the breech-block as drawn back within4 the carrier ready to be swung backwith the carrier. Fig. 9 is a view similarto Fig. 1, except that the breech is represented open. Fig.' 10 is a horizontal sectional view' corresponding with' Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a diagram which will be hereinafter explained.

Similar letters and numeralsof reference designate corresponding parts in all'the iigures.

A is the breech of the'gun.

B is the breech-block, and C is the breechblock carrier, hinged cn a pin D to one side of the breech. In the example represented the lug or member E ofthe hinge whichisl aiixed to .the breech is constructed on a metal band E, which is shrunk or so firmly secured upon the breech A as to be practically a part thereof. This construction of the fixed portion E of the hinge on a band islo'nly a matter of convenience forv adapting my invention to a gun already made. it is obvious that the fixed' portion or Lug E of the hinge may be constructed directly upon the breech of the gun. The breech-block D is of the well-known kind, having upon its exterior mnltilated screwthreads corresponding with mutilated screwthreads in th'e breech of the gun.

ThecarrierCconsistsof a strong ring having upon one side of it hinge-lugs C C', through which and the fixed lugE ou the breech thepiu D passes. The external circumference of the ring of the said carrier is fitted to a cavity a. in the breech, the said cavity beingin the example epresented in the fixed band'E, which,

,as hereinbefore mentioned, is substantially a part of the breech. The fit of the said ring `to the breech is represented as slightly taper'- ing to insure closeness and facilitate opening. The opening of the carrier C, in whichthe breech-block is received, consists, as shown yin Fig. 3, of` three concentric arc-formed bearings c and three intermediate arcs c of larger radius concentric with. c, the circle of the bearings c fitting the'mutihtted cylindrical portion ofthe breech-block between and behind the screw-threads, and thespaces within the arcs c corresponding with the mutilated portions of the interior of the breech to permit the breech-block to slide back through the closed carrier during the act of withdrawing the block from the breech. The breech-block has a portion of its circumference in rear of its screw-'threads of plain cylindrical form, as shown in Figs. 7and S, so that it mayturn freelyin the bearings c in the carrier, and on the rear end of the block there is secured by screws e e a plate I3', the edges of which project around the block in the form of a flange f, the said plate and flange being practically apart of the breech-block. The said plate B serves, also, the purpose of carrying a rearwardly projecting yoke B2, through which passes the hand-lever F, which serves the purposes of turning the breech-block, givingthe said block' the requisite longitudinal movement and moving the carrier on its hinge, and may also serve the purpose, as in the present example, of cocking the firing-pin and operating the cartridge-shell extractor. The said le` ver F has its fulcrnm upon a pin g between the l'ugs C' C of the carrier C, upon which pin it is capable of moving toward and from the breech of the gun, the said lugs C C being extended in a rearward direction beyond the pin I), as shown at (l2 C2 in Figs. 2, 4,1and 5,.t`or the purpose of carrying the said fulcrum-pin g. 'lhe pinsD and g are secured in place by a button 12. The slot 7L, provided in the yoke B2 for the lever F to work in, is of such form that the lever in moving backward within said slot from the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in which the breech is closed, will turn the breechblock far enough to bring the screw-threads thereon opposite to the mutilations of the screw-threads in the breech and to the recesses or spaces c c' between the bearings c c in the carrier, and thereby permit the breech-block 'to move backward. The form which I give this curved slet is shown in the diagram Fig. 11, which shows the out-lines of the yoke and its slot and a transverse section of the lever, the full outlines showing the relative positions ofthe slot and the lever when the breechblock is screwed up, and the dotted outlines showing their relative positions when the block is unscrewed. It will be seen 'that the forward or lower portion ot the curve is in line substantially parallel with the bore of the gun and with the plane of movement of the lever, and that the-curvature is thence developed somewhat inl-thc form of a screwthread with a gradually-liminishing pitch, svofy, provided in the latter to receive it, and during the movement of the lever in the slot h the said lever is supported vertically in part by the fulcrnm-pin and in part on the opposite side of the carrier to the fulcrum-pin by two horizontal guides g g2, provided one above and the other below it onthc carrier C, which is then supported in theeavity a in the breech. The longitudinal movement ci the breechblock within thc carrier to withdraw it from the breech, as shown in Fig. S, after it has been unscrewed and the subsequent swinging aside of the carrier and block te open the breech, as shown in Fig. 10, are eected by 'the direct action of the lever against the rear portion 14 of the slot h. The breech-block is, during its longitudinal movement, guided rectilinearly in part by a guide Il, which. projects from the rear of the carrier through an opening in the lever, and in part by a pin Z, (see Figs. 3 and 10,) which is screwed into the carrier from the outside thereof and the point of which projects within the carrier and enters a straight groove m (see Figs. 7, 8, and 10) in the'block. This pin also 'prevents the breech-block from turning during its backward and forward movements and acts as a stop against the front end of said groove to limit the backward movement of the block within the carrier, and also serves by the engagement of the said end of the slot against Ait to make an operative connection between the carrier and the lever for swinging the carrier backward on its hinge. The said groove m is prolonged at its rear -end in the form'of a female screw-thread m', so that although the pin lis always in it the said pin does not prevent the turning of the block in the screwthreads of the'breech. The guide il is represented as secu red to the carrier by a screw k.

To provide lfor locking the carrier to the breech of the gun when the latter is closed by the breech-block and until the block has been drawn back 'within the carrier and out of the breech` there is provided in the carrier a small latch-bolt i, (see Figs. 3 and 9,) the said bolt having a beveled end to allow it to enter easily into a notch L" (sce Figs. 9 and 10) in the cavity a of thebreech. The said latchbolt i is pivoted to the outer end of a small lever i2, (see Figs. 3, 4, 7, and 8,) which works IIO on a pin el* in a cavity provided for it in the j has its front end beveled, as shown atj `in Fig. 8, in such manner that just as the withfao drawal of the breech-block from the gun .is completed the said beveled front end willn'e as awedge on the projection i3 and so autoessere jection 113 and permit the breech-block to turn.

in the carrierwhile screwing it up and unscrewing it within the breech.

In order to provide for unlocking the .car-t rier from the breech in case of any failure of the automatic operation above described, I provide an opening from the notch t" directly through the side of t-he breech,as shown at 15 in Fig. 3, and=in this opening I placeapin i5, which projects outwardin such manner that pressure may' .be applied to it by thel thumb or linger to press inthe latch-bolt clear of the breech. This pin has its`inner end so enlarged that it can neither be pulled 'out'of the breech nor pressed into the hole.

provided for the latch-bolt 'i in. the carrier.

-I is the tiring-pin passing centrally through the breech-block and working 'in a guide atn in the front` partA ot' the block itself and a guide 'n' in the -plate B. The mainspring J, which is coiled around the firing-pin and contained withinA avcentral .cavity in the breech-block, abuts against the plate B' and presses against a collar or shoulder o on the pin. The. pin is prolonged 'backward and passes through a slot in the lever fF and is provided with a cross-head p, with which the said lever engages for thev purpose of drawing it back to the cocked position.

J* (see particularly Figs. 6 and 6*) is the scar, consisting of a plate which slides against the back of the breech-block and in which there are two openings p* q, through one of which the tiring-pinA passes and which is large enough for the larger' portions of' the firingpin to pass through it and theother of which receives the Sear-spring 'l'. The upper edge of the opening, which constitutes the-tooth for engaging iu the cooking-notcho'. of the firing-pin, is beveled, as shown at p' in Figs.

6 und 6*, so that' the shoulder on the pin may pass by it. in the act of caching. The sear is guided by a box J', which is secured by dovetailed edges and a screw 'r' to the plate B or breech. In this box is a square projection s', which passes through the opening q vof the' sear and which constitutes a bearing for the scar-spring r, which pushes downward against the lower` part of the said opening. The screw fr passes through this projection s.

K, Figs 5 and 6, is the trigger, fitted to a stock K', whichis inserted and secured in av dovetail groove t (see Figs. 1 and 3) in the bottom 'ot' the breech of the gun. -This trigger liberates the tiring-pin by pushing upward against the sear, but is only incontact therewith wherr the breech is closed.v

- L, Figs. 4, 7, 9, audit), is the cartridge-shel1- the subject-matter of myUnited States-patent, No. 431,214, dated July 1, 1890, consisting of a slide, which works back andforth in a guide u in one side of the cavity which receivesthe breech-block. .This extractor is, as described in that patent, provided with a iiange u', which engages with a tiangeu on the front of the breech-'block for the purpose ofstarting the cartridge-shell by the slight xuuscrewing it, the said *a'nge u being mutilated, as shown at u in Figs. 7, 8, and 10, to allow it to escape from said flange u' as the unscrewing of the breech-block is completed and to permit the block to. move back without taking the extractor L .with it. To provide for pullingback the extractor after the lbreech has been opened, I now provide within the carrier-hinge a small lever M, which I call zontally on a fulcrum-pin fu, secured in the hinge in front of the pin D, the said pin. being, in theexample represented, in the hinge- 'lug E' of the breech-band E, and" the said lever working in a, mortise in the said lug. 4 The inner end of this extractor-lever M engages in a groove o inthe extractor, and the. outer end projects through the lng E'. in such manner that when the carrier C, with the withdrawn breech-block, is, swung asideby the movement of the hand-leverF the part [v2 of the carrier will come in contact with the said projecting outer end of the 'extractor-lever,l and as the said movement is .continued the,

enough for the latter to drop or be easily taken from the breech. This Operation of the extractor is illustrated in Fig. l0. A` Aspring w (see Fig.-10) is applied'. to the extractor-lever in such manner as to tend to move the extractorinward when not operated upon either by the flange u? or by the part u2 ofthe carrier.. This spring returns the extractor, as shown in Fig. 7, when the flange u2 of the breech-block,vhaving started 4the cartridge, escapes from theiange u'ot the extractor.

Having described the construction and sep- .arate operations of thedifferent parte of a gun embodying my invention, I willnow proceed to summarize briefly the operations of the whole in proper order,- first supposing the gun to have been red and the parte to be left in the positions and conditions represented in Figs. 1, 2,3, and 4. All that haste tions is to pull back the lever from the position in which it is shown in the figures above part of the backward movement of the said lever it moves in the slot h of the yoke B the Ktiring-pin tothe position to be caught by the scar, the-nnscrewingof the block at the backward movement given to the block by carrier by its action' on the said' projecting'` part of the extractor-lever will draw back the y. extractor and with it the cartridge-shell far be done for performing theseveral operathe --extractorlever and which works hori- IOO IXO

mentioned andreturn-it. During the first and unscrews the breech-block, as shown in Fig. 7, and at the same time it draws backv VVss same time starting the cartridge-shell. The continued movement of vthe lever in contact with the back of the slot h withdraws the `l'ii-'eecl1-block from the gun, as shown in Fig. 8, :and just before this withdrawal is completed the wedge-like portion j of the breechblock .acts upon the'lever i2, and thereby draws inthe latch-bolt t' and unlocks the carrier C, and .as 'the withd rawal' is completed the front end 'of the slot m comes againstthe pin Z and the projection i3 drops into the notch f3, and the carrier is thus compelled to movefwith the breech-block during the further continued move-ment of the lever, by which the breechf` block .and carrier are together swung aside -on the pin D, as .shown in Figs. 9 and l0. The still further continued movement of the lever ,and the carrier brings the part e2 of the carrier ragainst the extractor-lever M and pulls back the extractor and with it the ein ty cartridge-shell. The'saidmoveinent of t e lever is, however, not intermitted between the several operations above described, but is continuons. '.llie cartridge-shell having been removed and a new charge having been inserted into the chamber of thev gun, the lever is eturned to the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4. During the first part 0fthis return movement the spring w returns theextract'or, and as bythe continued movement of the 1e-A ver the carrier passes into the cavitya of the breech the beveled end of the latch-bolt i, ru n- ,iing into the said cavity, causes the said bolt v'to be pressed inward and at the saine time causes the projection i3 of the lever i? to be thrown out of the recess y* to liberate lthe breech-block, which then commencesto move forward, while the latch-bolt is sprung into the notch il' in the breech to lock'the carrier.v By the continued forward movement of the lever the block must be pushed forward, as the block is prevented from turning by the pin Z until when the part m o'f the groove m m in the block arrives at the pin the lever by its action in the yoke screws up the block.-

All is now ready for firing. i l

It will be understood by reference to Fig. 4 that the firing could not take place until the llever F has entered the notch :vin the breech and the block has been securely locked, as, if the firing-pin should accidently let off while the leve'r is not locked, theci'oss-head of the piu would strike the lever and the pin wouldY be arrested with its point short ol the cartridge or priming. n l l p lVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. rlhe combination, with the gun, the breech-block carrier hinged thereto, and the breech-block tted to turn within the carrier and the gun,of a yoke ai'ixed to and proJecting rearward from the said block and a. lever having its f ulcrum in 4the carrier and arranged to move backward and forward relatively to the breech and operating within said yoke to turn the said block, substantially as herein described.

breech to make it serve as an abutment to the yoke for locking the breech, substantially as herein slet fort f 3. The combination, with the gun, the Abreech-block carrier hinged thereto, and` the breech-blocktted both to turn and to move 'lengthwise within both said carrier and the gun, of a lever having its fulcrum in said carrier and having a yoke connection with the said block for the purposes of producing said turning and lengthwise movements, substantially as herein set forth.

4. The combination, with the gun, the breech-block carrier hinged thereto, and the breech-block fitted both to turn and to move lengthwise within both said carrier and the gun, of a lever having its fiilcrum in said carrier and having a yoke connection with said block for the purpose of producing said turning and lengthwise movements, and a stop for limiting the lengthwise movement ofthe block within the carrier'and for engaging-the block with the carrier to make operative connection between the carrier and the-lever, substantially as herein set forth.

5. The'combination, with the gun, the breech-block carrier hinged thereto, and the breech-block iitted to turn within the gun and the carrier, of a curved yoke projecting rearward from said block, a lever having its fulcriiin in the carrier to i'nove backward and forward relativelyto the breech and within said yoke for turiing the block, and a. guide on the opposite side of the carrier to the fulcriim-pin for sustaining said lever, substantially as herein set forth.

6. The combination, with the gun, the

V'breech-block carrier -hinged thereto, the

breech-block fitted to turn within the gun and the carrier, and the -iiring-pin passing through the breech-block, of a lever having its` fnlcrum in the cari-ier and having a yoke connection with the block for turning it and having an engagement with the firing-pin for the purpose of cooking it during the turning of the block, substantially as herein set forth.

7. The combination of the gun, the breechblock carrier hinged thereto, the breech-block fitted both toturn and move lengthwise within the gun'and'the carrier, a locking device for locking the block in the carrier to cause them TOO to move together on the hinge, a firin -piii passing through the block, and a lever hinged to the carrier and having a yoke connection with the block for turning it and moving it lengthwise and swinging the carrier on the hinge andliaving an engagement with the firing-pin, said lever serving the several purposes of turning the block and moving it lengthwise, swinging aside the carrier and block to open the breech, and cooking the firing-pin, substantially as herein set forth.

8. The combination, with the breech-block and the tiring-pin passing through it, of a sliding Sear having an opening'in it through which the ring-pin'passes and ascar-spring .pressing against the sear to push its tooth toward the firing-pin, substantially as herein set forth. ,t

9. The combination,with the breech-block and thc firing-pin passingl through it, of a sliding Sear having two openings, one of said openin gs havin gthe'firing-pinpassin g through it and one end ot? said opening constituting the scar-tooth and the other of said openings containing both the sear spring and an abutment between which and the scar the said spring operates with a pushing action, substantially as herein set forth.

10. The' combination, with the gun, the hinged swinging breech-block carrier and the extractor, of the extractor-lever M, arranged in the hinge of the carrier with lts fulcrumpin in the breech in front of tho hingepin D and to be operated upon by n portion of the carrier, substantiallyasherein i ,set forth.

SAMUEL SEABURY.

Witnesses:

FREDK. I-IAYNES., GEORGE BARRY. 

